The Last Tax
Summary It is said that the only two certainties in life are Death and Taxes. It should then come as no surprise that in Strettera these things have become inextricable linked in a horrifying and efficient marriage. There are some nominal taxes that the Empire collects in coin. This is primarily raised from Tariffs on some imports, Licencing fees for various professions and priests, and administration fees charged on certain government services. However the Empire of Stretera was not built on coin at all. It was built on the unwavering back of undead labor. For that, you don't need coin, you need corpses. Lots and lots of corpses. The citizens of Stretera enjoy a standard of living undreamed of by any other group living on Redonia. Sure your village may be used by a Necromancer to test out some new magic, but you get free health care, and most labor intensive jobs are performed by hordes of animated corpses created by the government. All the government demands from its citizens is their corpse after they die. This is colloquially called "Last Tax" though it is in many cases the only tax demanded of the average citizen. = History In the early years, the empire had an elaborate 'tax' collection system which primarily involved bodies being collected and piled on carts to be taken to various regional admin centers. The manual gathering of corpses was labor intensive and inefficient. In addition to having to employ legions of collectors, there were always those who died out in the wilderness whose bodies were lost forever. Additionally, there was a strong cultural aversion to the Last Tax. In the years just after turn to Necrocratic rule, there was a huge increase in people who got lost in the wilderness never to be seen again, swept away by raging rivers, or died in tragic accidents involving campfires or oil lamps. Modernization and Innovation The collection of corpses was revolutionized by an ambitious young Necrominister named Alonzoul Gravehold. He developed a necromantic binding that was essentially a delayed corpse animation spell that could be cast on a living being that would activate on death. This spell was combined with a homing command that compelled the corpse to bring itself to the nearest administration center for assessment and assignment. After much experimentation he arrived at a formula which animated the corpse shortly after death and had the corpse peacefully walk to the admin center, while avoiding people's homes, crops, and other sensitive areas and sticking to the marked roads were they exist.. Early versions had corpses take the straight line route between them and the admin center trampling any obstacles in their way. Once perfected, this method was quickly adopted empire wide. Eventually the enchantment ceremony evolved into a Citizenship Oath and Binding Ceremony. All citizens must take this oath. During which the delayed animation enchantment is cast upon them and a tax rune is marked on their flesh and even down into the bone. All people who wish to become citizens must take the oath. People born in the empire take the oath at age 5. The binding was originally cast at birth, but having baby corpses crawling around was considered detrimental to the long term mental stability of the populace. Methodology and Uses Corpses of people who people who died young and were in generally good condition would be assigned to labor intensive uses such as construction. The elderly or corpses in a bad way are generally sent for de-fleshing. The admin centers farm flesh eating beetles for this express purpose. Skeletons are typically assigned for cannon fodder in the military, couriers, greeters (many towns have colorfully painted skeletons as town greeters and general tour guides they can escort you around town if give a destination) Zombies that have reached the end of useful life are also recycled into skeletons. While necromantic magic does significantly inhibit the natural decay process, this is counterbalanced by the additional wear and tear experienced by an active corpse. Without the natural repair and healing mechanisms of living creatures, a zombie can be worn out to uselessness in a matter of months on a heavy construction project. The damage can be repaired with necrotic energy spells and the like. Due to the plentiful supply of corpses however, it is more efficient to just de-flesh the zombie and re-animate / recycle into a skeleton.